All-Round Star Of World-Cup Winning Blind Cricket Team Cannot Find A Job. Can Anything Be More Shameful Than This?

Indian cricketers enjoy a status like no other sportsperson in our country. Be it the prize money for winning tournaments or cushy jobs, they are the select few, who have the privilege for all kinds of royalties. But the same cannot be said of the Men’s Blind cricket team.

The team won last year’s Blind Cricket World Cup and recently concluded one-day and T20 series in England. But no help is in sight as most of the players are jobless. Take, for example, the man of the series in England, Ketan Patel. He hasn’t been given a job by the Gujarat government even after repeated pleas. It makes us think as to what kind of a message we are giving those specially-abled children looking to take up sports as a career option.

Ketan Patel works at his farm and is able to earn just Rs 25000 in four months. Compared to this, Indian cricketers earn Rs 1,00,000 just for the man of the match award in each game. "Success comes after sincere effort and hard work. Yes, I celebrate our success, but I have to worry about some other aspects," Patel informed in an interview to Mid-Day.

"I don't have any hopes for a job now, simply because I have been trying for so many years. I was hopeful of one after our World Cup triumph five months ago, but no one helped me," he added.

With Indian cricketers earning well enough to buy Ferraris and Porsches, we hope that the BCCI will come up with some kind of compensation for the Blind Men’s Squad and the Gujarat government will take notice and do the needful, not because they asked for it but because they have earned it.